#TuksNetball: Shadine Van der Merwe says she will forever be grateful to Jenny van Dyk

Posted on April 22, 2021

Shadine van der Merwe is considered a leading defensive player in netball, but she could have been lost to the game if it was not for the TuksNetball Head of Programme & Head Coach, Jenny van Dyk.

A few years back, she was genuinely frustrated. It felt like her netball career was going nowhere. Jenny van Dyk convinced van der Merwe not to forsake her dreams and persevere. 

The TuksNetball alumna took her advice to heart. She never regretted doing so. In 2019, she represented the SPAR Proteas at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England. Her unmatched on-court work rate in the wing defence did not go unnoticed.

This season, she will make her second successive appearance for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the 2021 Suncorp Super League campaign.

"The Australian league is possible the most brutal competition. Most of the world's best players have been contracted to play. At times it feels like you playing international netball weekend after weekend. It is a good thing because once you realise that you can stand your own on the court, you gain confidence," says the SPAR Proteas international. 

Van der Merwe ruptured her ACL in 2016. It was a significant setback as she was sidelined for almost a year. What made it tough was the fact that she had made her senior national team debut in 2015. 

In 2017, she captained Tuks to winning the Varsity Netball tournament for the first time. It is still a definite highlight, but she felt she had more to offer. Van der Merwe wanted to play internationally again but doubted whether she would. That is why she considered playing women's sevens rugby. It would have been a new challenge.

Van Dyk's assessment, however, turned out to be correct. Van der Merwe got called up to play for the Proteas again in 2018.  Since then, she hardly missed a game. Van der Merwe is not sure how many caps she got to her name. She guesses it somewhere between 44 and 48.

Due to her Super League commitments, she missed out on playing for the Proteas during the 2021 SPAR Challenge Tri-Nations in Cape Town last month.

"It might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It will allow the selectors to try out some new combinations, which is important considering that South Africa is hosting the next Netball World Cup Tournament in 2023 in Cape Town."

The SPAR Proteas finished fifth at the 2019 Netball World Cup and van der Merwe is confident that South Africa can qualify for the semi-finals or final in 2023. 

"From a skills perspective, we are as good as any other team. We do, however, lack confidence. Fitness is something else we need to work on. We are competitive in the first three quarters. Unfortunately, it often happens that we lose focus in the dying minutes of the game. It costs us.

"I have already committed to getting fitter. There is a saying in netball-look good, feel good, play well. It is true. I have lost about six kilograms, and that changed how I play." 

- Author Wilhelm De Swardt

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